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Protecting free speech in an age of Google and political turmoil goes deeper than Lake Ontario or Lake America.
Warning: Defend has limited resources and cannot vouch for any technical information or advice on removing data from existing Google systems, though the following guidance was sourced and recorded as a record by us from Google AI itself on 27/08/26. You may wish to do further research using other platforms before taking action or speak to an IT expert if you have any doubts
To pull all your data out of Google's ecosystem in one go, you should use their official tool called Google Takeout.
To pull all your data out of Google's ecosystem in one go, you should use their official tool called Google Takeout.
This skips the tedious process of downloading files folder-by-folder and instead packs everything (Drive files, Gmail, Photos, etc.) into one or more large ZIP files that you can save straight to your PC.
How to use Google Takeout
Open your web browser and type google.com directly into the address bar.
You will see a massive list of every Google service you use. By default, all of them are selected.
Click the Deselect all button at the top of the list so you can choose exactly what you want.
Scroll down and tick the boxes for the specific data you want to rescue. The main ones are usually:
Drive (Your documents, PDFs, and files)
Google Photos (Your pictures and videos)
Mail (Your Gmail inbox history and archives)
Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click Next step.
Choosing your download settings
On the next screen, you can choose how you want to receive your files:
Transfer to: Choose Send download link via email.
Frequency: Choose Export once.
File type & size: Leave the file type as .zip. For file size, it is usually best to choose 2GB or 5GB. If your data is larger than this, Google will simply split it into multiple numbered zip files (e.g., Part 1, Part 2) so they are easier for your internet browser to download without crashing.
What happens next?
Click Create export. Google will now work in the background to bundle up your years of data.
Because it has to compile everything onto their servers, this process takes some time. Depending on how many files you have, it could take a few hours or even a couple of days. Google will send you a final email with a download link the second it is ready.
Once you click that link and download the ZIP files to your PC, you can extract them, and you will officially have a complete, independent copy of your data safely out of Google's hands.
What to do when your Google Takeout is ready:
The advice below was sourced from Google AI as if you were tranferring your Google Takeout to download onto an external drive. We recommend you research the acceptance of such data by other systems based in the Cloud, such as Proton for example, which is based in Switzerland.
What to do when your Google Takeout is ready:
The advice below was sourced from Google AI as if you were tranferring your Google Takeout to download onto an external drive. We recommend you research the acceptance of such data by other systems based in the Cloud, such as Proton for example, which is based in Switzerland.
Plug your new physical drive into your computer's USB port.
Open your internet browser downloads and find the ZIP files Google sent you.
Drag those ZIP files directly onto your new external drive.
Right-click the ZIP files on your drive, select Extract All, and your files will unfold into normal, viewable photos and documents that are completely yours.
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